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A Clear Picture Of Changing Body Composition; Interview With Naomi Clarke

May 27, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Today we are honored to listen to Naomi Clarke who placed Ninth in the 7th Venus Index Transformation Contest.

Check out her beautiful transformation from the 12 Week Contest:

Naomi liked that the program goals were focused on shape rather than weight

Naomi liked that the program goals were focused on shape rather than weight or building muscles like a guy.

Read what Naomi wrote about her experience with Venus Index:

VT7 – Contest Participant Naomi Clarke Age 33 Height 5’4 Start of contest: Shoulders 42 in Waist 27 in Hips 37 in Weight 134.4 lbs End of Contest: Shoulders 40 in Waist 26 in Hips 36 in Weight 135 lbs VI Goal: Shoulders 39.56 Waist 24.45 Hips 34.72 Weight 124 lbs

I found the Venus Index program through friendship with CaliforniaGirl on My Fitness Pal. Seeing her extreme transformation I knew that there must be merit to the program. Through my teens and twenties I maintained a healthy body weight and body type. I liked my body but I always knew in the back of my head that I was not in my personal best shape, when I turned thirty I realized that it was very important to me to be in my best personal shape.

I found my fitness pal and began counting calories. The first thing I noticed was that I was under eating calories. Once I started meeting my micro nutrients and eating at a slight deficit for my goals I began lifting weights and working out a couple days a week. For the VT7 12 week contest I set my daily calorie goal at 1,100 calories, if I had an event where I needed to eat up I would just eat lower the next day to even it out. I was very strict with my calories during the week but less so on the weekends.

The funny thing is that I tended to under eat during the weekend as I would do a fast on Sunday. I am proud of myself that I maintained my calories consistently for most of the 12 weeks I had a few days where I ate higher but I also ate as clean of foods as I could and chose proteins as my cheat meals if I ate above my calories.

My workout goal for the contest was three Venus Index workout and two cardio workouts a week. I am happy to say that I did not miss one Venus Index workout the entire program; I did miss a few cardio workouts. Week six and seven were very difficult weeks for me, I felt very exhausted and a bit like a zombie, but after that my energy levels were high and I had no problem with lifting my weights. Overall I feel that the twelve weeks went by in a flash.

I blogged every week of the program and the ladies in the forum are all very supportive and help a lot with staying focused and on track. I really recommend joining a contest and getting a photographer to take your after shots; it was such a good experience and really helps to have a goal deadline.

I am at my personal Venus measurements for my shoulders but I am still an inch off on my waist and hips. My new goal is to eat at half the calorie deficit and do another round of Level 1 until I reach my personal Venus Index Measurement goal.

Naomi's metrics before and after the 12 week contest.

Naomi’s metrics before and after the 12 week contest.

 

Naomi at the beginning of the 12 week contest.

Naomi at the beginning of the 12 week contest.

Naomi after the 12 week contest.

Naomi after the 12 week contest.

 

Listen to Naomi’s interview here, and please “like” it when you’re done:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Filed Under: Interview, Muscle Growth, Shape, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Endless Cardio Does Not Change Your Shape; Interview with Jenny Weaks

May 20, 2013 by 3 Comments

Today we are honored to listen to Jenny Weaks who placed second in the 7th Venus Index Transformation Contest.

Check out her beautiful transformation from the 12 Week Contest:

Jenny learned that the key to getting a good shape was the right amount of food and a good weight training program designed for women.

Jenny learned that the key to getting a good shape was the right amount of food and a good weight training program designed for women.

Read what Jenny wrote about her experience with Venus Index:

I was in week 8 of Phase 1 when the contest started. I got to week 11 and decided to jump on to Phase 2 because there was so much buzz on the forums about it. The 1st six weeks I did very minimal cardio, mainly just walking when I felt like it. Aside from continuing to focus on fat loss, I decided (based on midway progress pictures), that I needed to focus more on my arms and glutes. I was losing a lot of weight quickly and my arms looked pretty skinny compared to my legs. My butt was getting flat too, so I decided to do some specializations for arms and butt at that point and I continued them through to the end. The nutrition side of Venus is what really drove my success. I did a minimum of two 36-48 hour fasts per week. RTD called for 800 calories a day for me, so I found it much easier to just not eat a few days a week than to eat so low in calories. That deficit was hard at times, and I had some setbacks along the way, but I learned quickly that any higher calorie days were more bloat than fat. A fasting day would bring me right back down. I lost 15 pounds during VT7 and got down to 21% bodyfat (tested by DEXA scan). I didn’t quite make all my VI measurements, so that is my next goal.

Jenny's metrics for the 12 week contest

Jenny’s metrics for the 12 week contest

Jenny's pictures before the 12 week contest.

Jenny’s pictures before the 12 week contest.

More of Jenny after the 12 week contest

More of Jenny after the 12 week contest

Jenny before and after her transformation.

Jenny before and after her transformation.

 

Listen to Jenny’s interview here, and please “like” it when you’re done:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Filed Under: Bodyfat, calories, transformation Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Are We Natural Cyborgs?

May 15, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Here’s the next episode of the UNCENSORED Podcasts Season 2.

Today’s topic:  Are We Natural Cyborgs?

Are We Natural Cyborgs?

Are We Natural Cyborgs?

Are We Natural Cyborgs?

Diet and fitness marketing tends to refer to what is ‘natural’. Many diets promote a way of eating that is ‘natural’ and the way we evolved to eat.

But are we natural beings anymore?

It’s not uncommon for people to have many artificial, prosthetic or unnatural ‘parts’ to their body.

We can have surgically reconstructed joints, bones, eyes, ears (hearing aids), artificial hearts, mesh plating (stents), balloons, sensors (pacemakers), artificial valves, and many other artificial parts to replace or enhance our ‘naturally’ failing parts.

We also have drugs that mimic or replace the functioning of ‘natural’ systems of the body that just aren’t working well anymore.

It then becomes a question of what is natural. Does it even make sense to strive for what is ‘natural’ with our diet and fitness if our bodies are becoming less natural themselves.

In this new era of modern medicine and devices you could argue that we’re becoming ‘natural cyborgs’.


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Filed Under: Shape, sociology, Supplements, Uncategorized, Uncensored Podcasts S02 Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Aztec Venus Story; Fit And Fabulous At Age 44

May 6, 2013 by 2 Comments

Today we are honored to listen to Barbara Highland who placed first in the 7th Venus Index Transformation Contest.

Check out her beautiful transformation from the 12 Week Contest:

Barbara is fit and fabulous at age 44!

Barbara is fit and fabulous at age 44!

 

Read what Barbara wrote about her experience with Venus Index:

The Aztec Venus Story…..

I always believed that people who claimed to love the gym were crazy or compulsive liars. Who in his right mind could love being sweating instead of sleeping???

Three years ago I was in the middle of my worst nightmare, after two years of fertility treatments and three miscarriages, my newborn baby just passed away, doctors told me I was unable to carry another pregnancy and was 70 pounds overweight. When you have a baby and you are overweight you don’t care, because every time you see the baby you know it was worth every single pound of fat. But I had no baby, I was grieving, devastated, hopeless, bitter and horribly FAT…I could even see my cellulite with my clothes on!!!

Another year of unsuccessful fertility treatments to get a surrogate mother pregnant didn’t let me loose much of that weight, probably just around 20 pounds. After my last egg retrieval I decided that I was done with treatments and that this was my last one no matter what. I lost 40 pounds very fast and at the same time my surrogate mother got pregnant with one of those eggs, so I was thrilled. I was having a baby and was skinny again….flabby skinny, butt less skinny, but skinny again…..and with a baby on the way!!!!

I started exercising, just cardio and still hating the gym, but this managed to keep my weight off so I thought it was worth the effort. I looked pretty well dressed but I had no tone, no muscles and no butt, so I decided the easy remedy, butt plastic surgery!!!! I started looking for the different options (implants, fat transfer, threads), until  my sweet and loving husband told me that there was no way he was paying for a fake butt and told me that I had two choices, exercising to build it up or paying for it. I had no money, so I had no other choice to stick to the first option and started doing leg press and all the damned glute machines available at my gym, beside my regular (boring to death) cardio routine.

After several months and very mild results on my flat butt, one day I received an email that changed my life. It was John Barban’s with the pictures of the last Venus Index contest. When I saw the pictures I felt jealous of the blonde in the second place and said “I want that body for myself!!!” But I heard the nasty little voice inside me saying “You are too old for that!!!” 

Browsing the pictures of the past contests I saw Roberta and said to myself… “She is very hot and older than me, I have good genes, a lot of discipline and if she could do it, I can do it too.”  I bought the program, went to Christmas vacation and decided to start in January (diets and programs always start on some Monday of January). Roberta became my role model, I even placed her picture on my fridge, with another one of Linda Hamilton’s arms in Terminator 2.

After following the program to the T, here I am now, three months after, 44 years old with the same waist I had in college, with a ten month old baby, fit and strong as ever and with the toned body I always dreamed of (without exercising, of course). I look better than most of the girls I see at he gym that are less than half my age. Thank you John…thank you Roberta….and thank you hubby for not  paying for my fake butt!!!!

Now I belong to the crazy group of people that can’t have a day without hitting the gym. Rest days are a nightmare!!!

Before and after metric data for Barbara

Before and after metric data for Barbara

 

Barbara's before pictures at the start of the 12 week contest.

Barbara’s before pictures at the start of the 12 week contest.

Barbara when she was 50 pounds heavier.

Barbara when she was 50 pounds heavier.

 

Barbara has become addicted to the gym which can be a Venus side effect.

Barbara has become addicted to the gym which can be a Venus side effect.

Listen to Barbara’s interview here, and please “like” it when you’re done:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Filed Under: change, Contest, Interview, transformation Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Hierarchy of Diet and Fitness needs; Redefining the Fitness Pyramid

May 1, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Here’s the next episode of the UNCENSORED Podcasts Season 2.

Today’s topic:  The Hierarchy of Diet and Fitness needs; Redefining the Fitness Pyramid

Don't stress about what you can't control. Change what you can.

Don’t stress about what you can’t control. Change what you can.

John and Brad discuss how to look at your health and fitness needs.  Nutrition, supplements, ability to lose fat, ability to gain muscle, and ability to train are all interrelated.  It all works together.  Small things effect other things and then can escalate to hinder your goals.

Your own pyramid is unique.  Your own inhibitors can be anywhere on your pyramid.  Certain things are foundational:

  • Keeping stress under control
  • Awake and sleep cycles
  • Fat loss, if needed
  • Effort in the gym
  • Ability to sleep
  • Amount to eat (not too much, not too little)
  • Injury
  • Ability to recover from workouts
  • Finding a good time to workout

People with sleep and stress out of control typically have trouble sticking with a diet and fitness program.

Each person is unique.  Sometimes supplements or nutrition can address specific inhibitors.

The main thing is don’t worry or stress about things you have no control over.  Change the things you can.  Small things effect other things and then can escalate into bigger problems that hinder your goals.

I hope you enjoy listening to the discussion as much as I did.

-Ro

 

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Filed Under: Bodyfat, stress, Supplements, Uncensored Podcasts S02, weight loss Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

VT7 12-Week Transformation Winners Announced

April 29, 2013 by 5 Comments

The VT7 results are in and the transformations and final pictures are simply amazing!

This is only a small glimpse of the beautiful pictures.  Wait until you see the rest of the pictures along with their upcoming interviews.  Each girl has her own unique story of struggle; The pictures here barely scratch the surface regarding what it took for each one to obtain their success.

Congratulations to everyone who entered and finished!  This took hard work on the part of everyone and it shows.

Here are the winners:

First Place – Barbara H

Barbara - First Place - Before and After

Barbara – First Place – Before and After

Barbara - First Place - Before and After

Barbara – First Place – Before and After

Barbara - First Place - Before and After

Barbara – First Place – Before and After

Second Place – Jenny W

Jenny - Second Place - Before and After

Jenny – Second Place – Before and After

Jenny - Second Place - Before and After

Jenny – Second Place – Before and After

Jenny - Second Place - Before and After

Jenny – Second Place – Before and After

Third Place – Donna-Marie M

Donna - Third Place - Before and After

Donna – Third Place – Before and After

Donna - Third Place - Before and After

Donna – Third Place – Before and After

Donna - Third Place - Before and After

Donna – Third Place – Before and After

Fourth Place – Kiya

Kiya - Fourth Place - Before and After

Kiya – Fourth Place – Before and After

Kiya - Fourth Place - Before and After

Kiya – Fourth Place – Before and After

Kiya - Fourth Place - Before and After

Kiya – Fourth Place – Before and After

Fifth Place – Lacey M

Lacey - Fifth Place - Before and After

Lacey – Fifth Place – Before and After

Lacey - Fifth Place - Before and After

Lacey – Fifth Place – Before and After

Lacey - Fifth Place - Before and After

Lacey – Fifth Place – Before and After

Sixth Place – Rose S

Rose - Sixth Place - Before and After

Rose – Sixth Place – Before and After

Rose - Sixth Place - Before and After

Rose – Sixth Place – Before and After

Rose - Sixth Place - Before and After

Rose – Sixth Place – Before and After

Seventh Place – Dominique

Dominique - Seventh Place - Before and After

Dominique – Seventh Place – Before and After

Dominique - Seventh Place - Before and After

Dominique – Seventh Place – Before and After

Dominique - Seventh Place - Before and After

Dominique – Seventh Place – Before and After

Eighth Place – Jenn C

Jenn - Eighth Place - Before and After

Jenn – Eighth Place – Before and After

Jenn - Eighth Place - Before and After

Jenn – Eighth Place – Before and After

Jenn - Eighth Place - Before and After

Jenn – Eighth Place – Before and After

Ninth Place – Naomi C

Naomi - Ninth Place - Before and After

Naomi – Ninth Place – Before and After

Naomi - Ninth Place - Before and After

Naomi – Ninth Place – Before and After

Naomi - Ninth Place - Before and After

Naomi – Ninth Place – Before and After

Tenth Place – Cynthia W

Cynthia - Tenth Place - Before and After

Cynthia – Tenth Place – Before and After

 

Cynthia - Tenth Place - Before and After

Cynthia – Tenth Place – Before and After

Cynthia - Tenth Place - Before and After

Cynthia – Tenth Place – Before and After

 

Filed Under: Contest, transformation, Uncategorized, weight loss Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

John Barban and Professor Mark Haub Talk About The Twinkie Diet Experiment

April 17, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Here’s the next episode of the UNCENSORED Podcasts Season 2.

Today’s topic:  The Twinkie Diet experiment with Professor Mark Haub

Professor Mark Haub experimented with The Twinkie Diet

Professor Mark Haub experimented with The Twinkie Diet

Today you will get a chance to hear John’s interview with Professor Mark Haub.  Professor Haub works at the Kansas State University in the department of Human Nutrition.

The Twinkie Diet experiment

One of the things I enjoyed the most about listening to Professor Haub was his honesty and the fact that he is not endorsing or selling a diet or food product.  He simply had a bit of weight to lose and decided to try this experiment.  He specializes in better understanding dietary fiber and whole grains relative to diabetes and obesity.   He teaches a class on energy balance and obesity.

Since refined grains are listed by the USDA as potentially unhealthy and obesogenic Dr. Haub decided to use this opportunity to experiment with his own need to lose a few pounds.  He said it did not turn out the way he expected.  He learned a few things about himself during this experiment and after losing the excess pounds he decided to make some long term diet changes.

Professor Haub was surprised by the results of his experiment. His health parameters improved.

Professor Haub was surprised by the results of his experiment with snack foods. His health parameters improved.

He measured his health parameters and used a DXA scan to measure his body composition.  He lost 27 pounds of fat and 6 pounds of lean body mass which are both typical for this amount of weight loss on a just about any diet.  His health parameters improved.

Calories really do matter

Professor Haub limited himself to less than 1,800 calories a day.   A man of his size usually consumes about 2,600 calories a day.  He followed a basic principle of weight loss: He consumed significantly fewer calories than he burned.

This confirms what most of us here at the Venus Index already knew along with the principles of John’s Anything Goes Diet.

You have your own unique dietary needs

Most of us experimented to find our own way to lose weight.  We found that the right amount of calories was key, along with not depriving ourselves of foods we love.

So if you have weight to lose the key is to find the right amount of calories and do whatever it takes to keep yourself sane and feeling okay short term.  Then spend the rest of your life figuring out what type of diet is good for you.  All of us have unique likes, dislikes, and health needs.  Pay attention to your calorie needs, what nutrients you need, what your health practitioner advises, and not letting food control you.

You can find Professor Mark Haub on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, and CNN online.

 

 

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Filed Under: calories, Diet, Uncensored Podcasts S02, weight loss Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

The Girl Who Gets To Wear Cute Clothes Into Her 50’s

March 4, 2013 by 4 Comments

Today John talks to Terry Clauss who placed seventh in the 6th Venus Index Transformation Contest.

Check out her transformation pictures from the 12 Week Contest:

Terry Clauss before the contest

Terry Clauss before the contest

Terry Clauss after the 12 week contest

Terry Clauss after the 12 week contest

The inner athlete

Terry always knew she had an athlete inside herself.  She knew she was strong and she liked to workout, but she never got the truth about calories until she found the Venus Index Workout.

Like many of us she only had one half of the equation down; exercise.   We couldn’t understand why when we worked out and built muscle we just looked bulky, hefty, and strong instead of feminine, sleek, and strong.  It’s all about calories (along with a superior workout design).

Terry loves her new look, strong yet feminine.  That is how the Venus Index is designed.  “The focus is proportions and shape (rather than weight loss at all costs or building muscle like a guy)” – John Barban.

Like most of us Terry learned the hard way regarding diet.  After years of trendy diets and good food lists and bad food lists, Terry found the Anything Goes way of eating refreshing. That’s what we do in the Venus Index Community.

As far as food goes you can have everything you want, just not all at once.  You learn to setup your own calorie budget and follow it.  No more depriving yourself of foods you love.  Just learn to eat the right amount for your size.

She is learning to enjoy being fit and have a nice shape without worrying so much about overall weight.

You can wear cute clothes in your 50’s

Ever wonder what it’s like to have the following problem; You are a grandmother shopping in the junior’s section because nothing in the women’s section is small enough to fit you.   Well Terry knows, just ask her how much fun it is.

Clothes shopping and planning for work or social events used to be stressful.  Now it’s fun.  It used to be that nothing looked good or felt good.  Now everything is cute and fun.

This was a big deal to Terry.

The problem used to be nothing fit right, nothing felt right, and nothing was comfortable.  Now the problem is everything fits and you can’t buy the whole section of cute small clothes that all fit and look good.  It’s like you turned into a barbie doll.  It’s just about every woman’s dream.

Like many of us, Terry found her dream in the Venus Index Community.  She said the community is amazing.  Everyone chimed in to answer her questions and give her support.  She learned to love blogging there.

When she didn’t have anything to blog about she read what others wrote and was amazed at the lessons learned.  She is amazed at all the successful transformations and that it is not a bunch of fake advertisements.

These are real women of all ages, from all over the world, achieving their dreams and transforming their lives.

Check out the comparison; The first picture was Terry when she was 60 pounds heavier.  She has lost 41 pounds since she started Venus Index.

The second picture is Terry now.   She has done a fabulous job.  Her hard work and dedication to her health and fitness has paid off!

Terry in Feb 2009 compared to Feb 2013

Terry in February 2009 compared to February 2013. She looks fabulous!

 

Advice from Terry:

 

Read what Terry wrote about her experience with Venus Index:

I began VT6 by doing VI Circuits but then switched back to Phase 2. I think Circuits is a great workout and I will go back to it at some point  … Continue reading here.


Listen to Terry’s interview here, and please “like” it when you’re done:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Filed Under: calories, Contest, Exercise, Interview, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

An Original Venus Who Never Gives Up

February 25, 2013 by 1 Comment

Today John talks to Tina Roman who placed sixth in the 6th Venus Index Transformation Contest.

Check out her transformation pictures from the 12 Week Contest:

Tina Roman before pictures

Tina Roman before the contest

Tina Roman after pictures

Tina Roman after the contest

A tenacious original Venus knows how to stick with the program

Tina is one of original women to try out the Venus Index Workout when it first came out.  She has stuck with it since the beginning.

She got an email from Craig Valentine regarding Eat Stop Eat and that is how she found the Venus Index Workout by John Barban.

Like many of us Tina did the yo-yo on a variety of diets finding most of them complicated and unsustainable.  Tina found the biggest key in the Body Centric Eating Manual which is part of the Venus Index.  No one ever told her she was simply eating too much for her size.  She finally learned something that made sense;  the truth about calories.

Life is not fair but she realized that she had to stop eating the same size portions as her husband.  Portion sizes are designed for 6 foot tall men.

Tina really liked the goal setting metrics that are part of the Venus Index program.  This made sense to her.

Mindset is 90% of the battle

Tina had never had a problem with exercise, in fact she worked really hard and couldn’t seem to lose the fat.  She joined several Venus Index transformation contests and found that with each contest she dropped more weight each time.  Tina found most of the battle to be the mental mindset.  The contests and the Venus Index Community helped her get the mindset she needed to succeed.

Tina also found the the unsensored podcasts to be educational and motivational and attributes much of her success to listening to them.  It didn’t take long for her to want “all in” with the Immersion program.  She sees the value of investing in yourself and deciding you are worth it.

Tina's constant commitment to Venus Index brought her this far!

Tina a few months before the first ever Venus Transformation contest compared to finishing her last contest (VT6).  She has done a fantastic job!

Advice from Tina:

 

Read what Tina wrote about her experience with Venus Index:

I was always the thin girl in high school, no more than 100 lbs soaking wet. I started weight training to avoid “girls” gym  … Continue reading here.


Listen to Tina’s interview here, and please “like” it when you’re done:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Filed Under: calories, change, Contest, Interview, transformation, Uncategorized, weight loss Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

What Is Maintenance?

February 20, 2013 by 1 Comment

Here’s the next episode of the UNCENSORED Podcasts Season 2.

Today’s topic:  Maintenance

What is maintenance?

What is maintenance?

What is maintenance?

The real answer is that you’re never actually just sitting in one spot at the exact same weight, and body fat %. You’re always fluctuating a little bit throughout the day, and throughout the year.

Maintenance is more of a transient state that you can dip in and out of when you you’re not necessarily trying to gain more muscle or burn more fat.

You can ‘hold’ and maintain a certain level of body fat and muscle for a given length of time and then get ready to push it hard again.

The step-wise progression

In all the body transformations I’ve ever seen it’s always a step-wise pattern. This means you will improve for a given amount of time. Then you’ll need to take a break. Once you feel ready you can push forward again. The amount you move forward is dependent on your goals and how hard you expect to push things.

Thinking about maintenance is also about managing expectations and where you expect to go based on the energy you’re putting forward.

Moments of maintenance happen for many reasons including lifestyle factors, seasonal changes, periodic moments of being sick, generalized stress.

For example over the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday season you may simply set a goal to just make it from November to January without gaining fat mass.

In this case you’re actually working to just maintain, and you’d probably have to consider it a win just to make through the holidays without gaining fat.

Maintenance is a mode you go into throughout the year, and it’s normal to go through phases of muscle growth vs muscle maintenance and fat loss vs maintenance.

In this podcast we discuss what maintenance is, how to define what it is and how often you should expect to be in maintenance mode.

-John 

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Filed Under: Bodyfat, fat loss, Muscle Growth, Podcast, Uncategorized, Uncensored Podcasts S02 Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,
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